Page 52 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

I nodded in agreement and spent the next hour repeating the movement over and over. The Majestic was heads and tails above both Starlight Palace and The Moxi, with Airyn’s gentle elegance the icing on the cake. The rooms were breathtaking, with each one staged in preparation for an event the following day. From the chandeliers to the finishings on the floor, it was clear that time and effort had gone into this venue. By the time we made it to the conference room to talk pricing and packages, I was sold. A quick glance at D’Vaughn told me she felt the same way, if the stars in her eyes were any indication. After signing the contract and paying a deposit that was conveniently the exact amount as the check we’d received on Sunday, our band of merry wedding planners spilled out onto the paved circular driveway in front of the building.

I could see the excitement on their faces as soon as we cleared the fountain and I spoke quickly to head off any conversation. Slipping an arm around D’Vaughn’s waist, I smiled at our family.

“I know you guys probably want to discuss things, but save it for the restaurant. We want to treat you all in celebration of us making the first big decision of our wedding, so we made reservations for dinner.” Pulling out my phone, I glanced at the screen. “And if we don’t leave now, we’ll likely be late.”

The mention of food got them moving. After texting out the address to the location that had been arranged by the show, we all piled into our respective vehicles and made the twenty-minute trek to a popular steakhouse on the west side. When we arrived, I gave my name to the hostess and we were immediately shown to a private dining room with an oblong table that sat at least fifteen people. The lighting was dim and intimate, and on the table were three glass cylinders that served as centerpieces. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to miss the extravagant pleasures I’d been exposed to when these next few weeks were over.

Two servers came in as soon as we were seated, placing baskets of warm bread in front of us, laying fabric napkins over our laps, and taking our drink orders.

“Ooh,” murmured D’Niesha. “This is fancy!” Leaning across Ms. Miller, she tapped D’Vaughn on the thigh. “You marrying into money, or nah?” I bit back a laugh at her whispered question. If she only knew who was bankrolling this meal.

Gasping, D’Vaughn covered her face. “Oh my gosh. Niesha, shut up!”

Ms. Miller shook her head. “Don’t be so tacky, little girl.”

D’Niesha pursed her lips. “So, you’re telling me it didn’t cross your mind? Really, Mama?”

Flattening her lips into a thin line, Ms. Miller didn’t say a word, but her youngest daughter must have taken it as an admission, because she snapped her fingers and sat back in her chair with a smug grin.

“That’s what’s I thought.”

“Anyway,” D’Vaughn said a little louder, pulling everyone’s attention toward her. “What do y’all think of The Majestic?”

“It was amazing!” Kiana gushed. Beside her, Josue nodded emphatically.

“Yes, but those prices.” Papi whistled.

He had a point. The Majestic was more than Starlight and Moxi combined.

I shook my head. “You don’t have to worry about that. We’re paying for this.” I hooked a thumb at myself and D’Vaughn to emphasize my point.

You would have thought I’d just called him by his first name from the scandalized look he gave me.

“¡Primero muerto!”

Groaning, I leaned my head back. “Papi—”

“No. I give on a lot of things, but this, I won’t budge on. No child of mine is paying for their own wedding.”

Mami reached for his hand, which was fisted on the table.

“Rey. Mi amor.”

I’d expected this to happen. Had been waiting on it, actually, but it still didn’t make it any less difficult to hear. It warmed my heart that my father wanted to pay for my wedding. It meant so much to me that it meant so much to him, but knowing that there was absolutely no way that he could do the one thing he didn’t want to budge on was a hard pill to swallow. I didn’t know how to explain to him that he couldn’t just write a check or swipe a card—not when he had to be present at every point in the planning process.

Silence fell across the table. I sat there, my jaw clenched, not wanting to disappoint him but not seeing any other way, when D’Vaughn laid a hand over mine, prying my fingers out of the fist I hadn’t even realized I was holding, and linking our fingers together. I looked at her, but her eyes were on my father.

“Reynaldo,” she began, her voice soothing and amicable. She waited for Papi to look at her, and when he did, the sight of his eyes red-rimmed and glossy brought a stab of pain to my chest. I felt tears build and I tried to blink them back.

“Right now, we are only paying deposits to secure our reservations. If it’s okay with you, Kris and I will continue covering these, but after the wedding, you can pay the final balances, if you’d like.”

Startled, I swiveled my neck to face her once again, but her eyes were still on my father. His light brown eyes swung from D’Vaughn to me.

“You’re not going to pay ninety percent of the cost and send me a bill for one dollar, are you?”

“Absolutely not,” D’Vaughn answered, even though he was looking at me. “I promise you that I will hand deliver every single bill we receive that is related to the cost of this wedding.” I sat there mute, in awe of how she’d come up with a solution for something that had the potential to blow this entire thing to pieces.

“Except for your dress,” interjected Ms. Miller. She cleared her throat and lifted her chin. “I’m paying for your dress.”